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Combat knives of varying sizes, types and styles were issued to the soldiers of all countries involved in WWII. They were used for close quarters fighting and for stealth purposes in order to avoid intense fire fights. Knives were occasionally a last resort for soldiers who had expended all the ammunition in their firearms. In addition to the uncommon but helpful usage of knives for combat, soldiers could also use them for an incredible variety of other tasks.

The knife is capable of full out stabbing during combat and silent take downs during stealth. During both situations, the ability to throw knives is unlocked after performing a number of takedowns, and unlocking more throwing knives to carry requires a set amount of throwing knife kills. Most enemies can be killed with a single hit with a knife. They can be picked up from the corpses of enemies who have been killed by them. Note that throwing your knife will not result in the inability to perform a takedown or stabbing, as another knife may be used. The knife throw might alert others if the victim is in close proximity.

The throwing knife's trajectory is affected by drop, thus the player will need to aim above the target in order to hit enemies at a distance. However, enemies will notice the knife if the player misses, so the silenced handgun is a better choice if the targets are too far away, where a successful knife throw is more difficult to achieve. A single throwing knife can be fatal to many common enemies. Although this weapon is quite uncommon, B.J. can retrieve thrown knives for future use.

The knife used by B.J. Blazkowicz in the introduction level resembles an American Mark I Trench Knife, with minor differences, while in the Asylum level he uses a large kitchen knife, during the rest of the game, he uses a 1960 combat dagger.

The 1960 combat Knife seems to have been inspired by the SS ceremonial dagger as both posses ornaments on the blade such as the the Nazi Reichsadler, while the main body construction resembling the U.S. M3 fighting knife due to the dagger blade shape, outward bending guard on one side, and the cylindrical grip, though unlike the M3, the 1960 knife has a blade wider than the handle. The serration and the sharpened "guard" is in fact a separate component attached to the knife by three bolts, one on the blade and two on the guard. The bolt on the blade seems adjustable within the blade fuller. This may enhance the knife's balance for throwing. At the bottom of the handle there is also an impact device which may be used to knock out enemies.

The Police baton was apparently originally intended to be another player usable melee weapon; however for unknown reasons it was never fully implemented. While you can still occasionally pick up a dropped baton, rather than give you a weapon it will just add a small amount of armour to your total.